Paper towel dispensing cabinet for different sized towels



L. J. BASTIAN Sept. 12, 1967 PAPER TOWEL DISPENSING CABINET FORDIFFERENT SIZED TOWELS Filed Nov. I5. 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.LEHYMAN J. BASTIAN ATTORNEY L. J. BAS'ITIAN Sept-12,1967

PAPER TOWEL DISPENSING CABINETFOR DIFFERENT SIZED TOWELS Filed Nov. 15,1965 2 Sheets-Sheet a INVENTOR. LEHYMAN J. BASTIAN ATTORNEY UnitedStates Patent Ofiice 3,341,067 Patented Sept. 12, 1967 vania Filed Nov.15, 1965, Ser. No. 507,894 3 Claims. (Cl. 221-44) This invention relatesto a new and improved paper towel dispenser and, more particularly, to adispensing cabinet capable of dispensing both C-fold and multifoldtowels.

In the past, there have been several varieties of paper towel cabinetswhich have been designed to dispense more than one type of towel. Thisis desirable for several reasons; one being that it enables towel usersto have greater flexibility in purchasing from different companieshaving different towel products to obtain a more competitive price. Someof these cabinets were capable of dispensing both C-fold and multifoldtowels. However, these cabinets were generally quite complex inconstruction and expensive to manufacture. Furthermore, in order toallow the reliable dispensing of different types of towels, it hasgenerally been found necessary to supply additional parts to the cabinetin sets which could be interchanged in order to convert the dispensingdevice arranged for use with one type of towel fold to an arrangementfor use with the other type of towel fold. These interchangeable partsor dispenser-coverting members would become misplaced or lost during useof one particular type of towel and subsequent convertability of thecabinet to enable it to dispense another type of towel fold was then notpossible.

The towel dispenser of the present invention is of a particularly uniquedesign and construction in that the cabinet housing portion includingthe dispensing means is comprised of a single piece integrally formedfrom one piece of metal sheet and is capable of reliably dispensing bothC-fold and multifold towels without the necessity of anydispenser-converting members or interchangeable parts. This affordssubstantial reductions in cost and manufacturing complexity. The cabinetalso embodies a backing plate which, as normally used, serves as amounting means to attach the paper towel dispenser to a wall. The backmounting plate contains means coopearting with means on the housing forallowing the housing to be withdrawn from the wall or opened in orderthat a new supply of paper towels maybe inserted therein.

An important feature of the invention which aids in allowing theadvantages of the invention to be achieved is the particularconstruction, shape, and position of an improved front towel stacksupport ledge which provides support to the stack of towels at theirfront edge but is spaced for a short distance from the edge of thedispensing opening so as to provide an open space beneath the centralportion of the lowermost towel adjacent the front edge of the dispensingopening. In the case of multifold towels, when the lowermost towel iswithdrawn, the next succeeding towel can be loosely partially withdrawninto this cavity whereby it is retained within the cabinet butrelatively free from the frictional forces normally present between thefront and rear towel support ledges and the paper towel due to theweight of the upstanding stack of paper towels within the cabinet.

The use of a ledge constructed as mentioned above re duces thecriticality of the relative difference in height between the frontsupport ledge and the back support ledge which has necessitated largelythe use of interchangeable converting members of different heights incabinets previously employed to provide for dispensing of both C-f-oldand multifold towels from the same cabinet.

The precise configuration of this ledge will be subsequently describedin greater detail. In general, it is preferred that the front towelsupport ledge be at a higher elevation than the rear towel supportledge. In this manner, the towel adjacent the dispensing opening of acabinet will be more clearly visible and exposed to a user, making thegrasping and dispensing of towels more convenient.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improvedpaper towel dispensing cabinet.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a towel dispensingcabinet having a housing portion and a dispensing means integrallyformed from a single piece of sheet material.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a towel dispensingcabinet which is capable of reliably dispensing both C-fold andmultifold paper towels without requiring interchangeable or adjustableparts.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom the following detailed description of the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a device embodying the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken through the deviceshown in FIGURE 1 illustrating the manner in which C-fold towels aresupported and dispensed therefrom;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken through the deviceshown in FIGURE 1 illustrating the manner in which multifold towels aresupported and dispensed therefrom;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view in spaced-apart relation of the mountingplate and of the housing of the cabinet;

FIGURE 5 is a partial plan layout view of 'a housing blank prior tobeing formed into shape and illustrating the lines along which thematerial is bent during formation.

Referring to the drawings, a housing of the cabinet, indicated generallyas 10, has side walls 11, a front wall 12, a top 13, and a bottomindicated generally by reference numeral 14. Housing 10 cooperates witha backing plate 15 to form a paper towel dispensing cabinet suitable forattachment to a wall or other support means.

Housing 10 is formed from a single sheet of material, preferably metal,after being cut into a flat pattern or blank, an illustrative portion ofwhich is shown in FIG- URE 5. The side walls 11, 11 are folded back andthe top 13, 13 is folded down with flaps 17, 17 secured to the upperends of side walls 11, 11 by spot welding.

The lower section of front wall 12 and the front portion of bottom 14have an inwardly depressed portion forming a front stack support ledgeindicated generally by reference numeral 18. As shown in FIGURE 5,bottom wall 14 has front tabs 19, 19 and back tabs 20, 20 which arefolded in an upwardly depending manner from bottom 14 as bottom 14 isfolded inwardly. As shown in FIG- URE 4, tabs 19 and 20 are then spotwelded to the inside surface of side walls 11, 11. A dispensing opening21 is provided in bottom 14.

Those familiar with sheet metal cabinet construction will readilyappreciate the relatively few simple fabrication steps required in theformation of the above housing structure 10. The bottom rear corners ofside walls 11 of the housing 10 are provided with bearing openings 22which may be aligned with suitable bearing openings 23 near the bottomof shallow flanges 24 on each side of backing plate 15. Bearing studmembers or pins 25 pivotally connect the housing 10 to the plate 15through the openings 22 and 23.

Plate 15 is provided with suitable slots 26 through which fasteners maybe inserted to mount the cabinet on the wall.

The top margin of plate 15 is provided with a depending flange 27 havinga reversed downwardly extending lip 28 which releasably engages aresilient locking member 29 secured to the top 13 of housing to hold thecabinet closed. On downward depression of member 29 by force appliedthrough an opening 30 in top 13, the cover may be swung forwardly anddownwardly about pins 25 to expose the cabinet interior for theinsertion of a new stack of fresh towels to be dispensed.

Turning now to the more specific features of the front towel stacksupport ledge, the lower end of front wall has a downwardly and inwardlysloping wall portion 31 passing into a downwardly and more inwardlysloping shelf portion 32 recessed upwardly and depressed inwardly intothe interior of the cabinet from the general level of bottom wall 14.Shelf portion 32 terminates in a downwardly and outwardly dependingriser portion 33 which terminates at an inwardly depending lip portion34.

It should be noted that the upwardly and inwardly depressed portion ofhousing 10, forming the front towel stack support ledge 18 and comprisedof wall portion 31, shelf portion 32, and riser portion 33, does notextend entirely to each side of housing 10 but is depressed starting ata point spaced from each side. This is done so that the depressedportion may be formed easily into the single sheet of the housingwithout interfering with the formation of the corners of the cabinetadjoining the front wall, bottom, and sides which would complicate theformation of the structure.

The forward edge 35 of dispensing opening 21 is formed by the rear edgeof lip portion 34. The rear edge 36 of dispensing openings 21 is curvedforwardly at each side of the cabinet and reverses again toward thesides to terminate into a slot connecting the front edge 35 with therear edge 36. This is shown clearly in FIGURE 5.

Rear edge 36 is part of a substantially horizontal portion 37 of bottomwall 14 which comprises rear towel stack support ledge. Horizontalportion 37 terminates rearwardly in an upwardly sloping dependingportion 38 which serves to lessen the weight of a stack of towels withinhousing 10 upon the lowermost towel to be dispensed. The rear edge oftowels stacked within housing 10 presses toward backing plate and, whenthe towels approach bottom 14, the slope of portion 38 reduces force ofthe stack against the bottom towel.

Referring now specifically to FIGURES 2 and 3, the manner in which bothC-fold and multifold towels are dispensed from the same housing anddispensing means or opening is clearly illustrated. FIGURE 2 shows theposition of a C-fold towel within the housing and illustrates theposition of an end 39 of the towel which hangs down into the opening andmay be grasped by a user for removal. It can be seen that as the C-foldtowels feed down toward the dispensing opening, the front edge of thetowel contacts sloping wall portion 31 of the front panel which helps tofan the towels slightly in the desired manner. At the same time thetowel is tilted so that it slants down and back. By fanning the towelsalong slope 31 and in the radius intersecting or connecting sloping wallportion 31 and shelf portion 32, the weight of the stack of toweling isdistributed along the front edge of more than one towel. This reducesthe stack pressure on the towel being dispensed, thereby minimizing thedanger of tearing during dispensing. A slight interference fit of C-foldtowels in the cabinet is preferred between sloping wall portion 31 andback plate 15 of the cabinet to further reduce the stack pressure on thebottom towel. This does not effect the dispensing of multifold towels asthey are generally narrower. FIGURE 3 illustrates the position of amultifold towel within the housing and the position of an end 40 of thetowel which hangs down into the opening for grasping and removal by auser. It can be seen that due to the open space beneath the centrolportion of the lowermost towel adjacent the front edge of the dispensingopening, the forward edge 16 of the multifold towel is permitted to dropdown in a relatively loose condition substantially free from stackpressure. The towels are reliably retained within the cabinet untildesired dispensing, however, by the inwardly depending lip portion 34located below the shelf portion 32 of front towel stack support ledge18.

From the above description, it will be apparent that many alterationsmay be made in the specific apparatus without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention. The precise description of the embodiment ofthe invention shown is not intended to unduly limit the scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. A paper towel cabinet comprising a backing plate and a one-piecehousing forming front, side, top and bottom walls, said housing beingremovably attachable to said backing plate so as to allow insertion of astack of folded paper towels, the bottom wall of said housing comprisinga front towel stack support ledge integrally formed therein and a reartowel stack support ledge spaced rearwardly of said front stack supportledge but connected thereto by integral upstanding side tabs which aresecured to said side walls of said housing, said spaced front and reartowel stack support ledges defining a dispensing opening in said bottomwall whereby paper towels of both the C-fold and the multifold type canbe reliably dispensed, said front towel stack support ledge comprisingan inwardly depressed section at the lower end of said front wall and atthe front end of said bottom wall, said section having a downwardly andinwardly sloping wall portion, a downwardly and more inwardly slopingshelf portion and a downwardly and outwardly depending riser portionterminating in an inwardly depending lip portion extending to the frontedge of said dispensing opening in a plane substantially parallel to butspaced from the plane of said shelf portion.

2. A paper towel cabinet according to claim 1, wherein said inwardlydepressed section extends from a line passing through the center of thefront and bottom walls of said cabinet toward each side wall to pointsspaced from each side wall.

3. A paper towel cabinet according to claim 1, wherein said inwardlydepressed section is contiguous about its entire periphery with portionsof said housing comprising said front and bottom walls.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,661,455 3/1928 Barbieri 221452,027,672 1/1936 Broeren 221 2,488,040 11/1949 Straubel 22144 2,830,7284/1958 Kreuger et al. 22148 3,203,586 8/1965 Downham 221-55 SAMUEL F.COLEMAN, Primary Examiner.

1. A PAPER TOWEL CABINET COMPRISING A BACKING PLATE AND A ONE-PIECE HOUSING FORMING FRONT, SIDE, TOP AND BOTTOM WALLS, SAID HOUSING BEING REMOVABLY ATTACHABLE TO SAID BACKING PLATE SO AS TO ALLOW INSERTION OF A STACK OF FOLDED PAPER TOWELS, THE BOTTOM WALL OF SAID HOUSING COMPRISING A FRONT TOWEL STACK SUPPORT LEDGE INTEGRALLY FORMED THEREIN AND A REAR TOWEL STACK SUPPORT LEDGE SPACED REARWARDLY OF SAID FRONT STACK SUPPORT LEDGE BUT CONNECTED THERETO BY INTEGRAL UPSTANDING SIDE TABS WHICH ARE SECURED TO SAID SIDE WALLS OF SAID HOUSING, SAID SPACED FRONT AND REAR TOWEL STACK SUPPORT LEDGES DEFINING A DISPENSING OPENING IN SAID BOTTOM WALL WHEREBY PAPER TOWELS OF BOTH THE C-FOLD AND THE MULTIFOLD TYPE CAN BE RELIABLY DISPENSED, SAID FRONT TOWEL STACK SUPPORT LEDGE COMPRISING AN INWARDLY DEPRESSED SECTION AT THE LOWER END OF SAID FRONT WALL AND THE FRONT END OF SAID BOTTOM WALL, SAID SECTION HAVING A DOWNWARDLY AND INWARDLY SLOPING WALL PORTION, A DOWNWARDLY AND MORE INWARDLY SLOPING SHELF PORTION AND A DOWNWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY DEPENDING RISER PORTION TERMINATING IN AN INWARDLY DEPENDING LIP PORTION EXTENDING TO THE FRONT EDGE OF SAID DISPENSING OPENING IN A PLANE SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO BUT SPACED FROM THE PLANE OF SAID SHELF-PORTION. 